Wednesday, July 26, 2017

The definition of dishonorable

Donald Trump during the campaign:

Donald Trump in office:

I wonder if he even knows what the T in LGBT stands for.

The bigotry and ignorance behind this decision are truly staggering. The implication that a transgender person imposes "tremendous medical costs and disruption" which impedes "decisive and overwhelming victory" when they serve "in any capacity" (emphasis mine) is totally without foundation. Seriously, can anyone give me one reason why a transgender person can't be a dentist? Or an accountant? Or a lawyer? Yes, the military employs all of these.

Eighteen countries—including Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and Norway—currently allow transgender troops to serve with no negative repercussions. The takeaway? “The pattern is that inclusion does not harm the military, and in fact, makes it better,” says Aaron Belkin, who authored a 2001 report assessing the impact of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and later testified at the government hearing that overturned that ban.

But the scariest part of this is not the negative impact that this ill-conceived and ill-advised decision will have on our military or the LGBT community, it is the positive responses it has been getting on twitter. This is democracy in action. God help us.

@Ron>The bigotry and ignorance behind this decision are truly staggering. The implication that a transgender person imposes "tremendous medical costs and disruption" which impedes "decisive and overwhelming victory" when they serve "in any capacity" (emphasis mine) is totally without foundation.

As is typical, the Washington Post is publishing #FakeNews . The Rand study referenced in the article estimated transgender health-related costs of $2.4 - $8.4 million per year ($24 - $84 million over 10 years). However, the study used estimates of the increases in insurance premiums for private employers. Since the US military is self-insured, one should add up the direct costs of such medical care. In addition, the Rand study did not add up the indirect costs of lost (paid) time due to recovery from gender reassignment surgery.

Correctly accounting for the direct costs, and adding in the indirect costs, a different study estimated that the 10-year cost would be $3.7 billion.

@Ron>There is not even any evidence that transgender people serving in combat roles has any negative impact on military readiness. . . . quoting:

“The pattern is that inclusion does not harm the military, and in fact, makes it better,” says Aaron Belkin, who authored a 2001 report assessing the impact of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

I will not attempt to summarize the entirety of it. I would pull out these themes from it:

1. Transgender people are not needed to achieve the goal of the military.

"The mission of the military is to defend America; it is not just another “equal opportunity”employer. The military defends individual rights, but it must be governed by different rules.Keeping these principles in mind, the Trump administration should pursue paramount goalsthat Secretary Mattis has stated: mission readiness and lethality in battle.

People afflicted with it experience much mental suffering. One outcome of that is an exteremly high rate of suicide attempts in the range of 32% to 50%. This makes them unfit to be around the lethal weapons.

A recent article in Military Medicine quoted research concluding that of transgender patientsstudied, “39% fulfilled the criteria for mental disorders, 71% for current and/or lifetimeassociatedmental disorders, and 42% of the patients were diagnosed with one or morepersonality disorders.” An 18-year study in a university gender clinic showed that suicides wereone of the chief causes of mortality in male-to-female patients, increasing six-fold.”

"The criminal behavior of Pfc. Bradley Manning, who later announced his desire to be a womancalled Chelsea Manning, is an egregious example of what can happen when the DefenseDepartment assumes the risk of recruiting or retaining persons suffering from psychologicaldisorders of any kind."

"Generally speaking, medical readiness seeks to enhance force readiness by providing thecommander with healthy and fit individuals capable of accomplishing the mission. In otherwords, military medicine exists as a combat multiplier; it seeks to keep the troops healthyso they can fight or patch them up and get them back in the fight."

"Now the Pentagon is turning this principle upside down, forcing the military and its medicalsystem to recruit, retain, and treat individuals with mental health problems and long-termmedical requirements, and risks that detract from readiness and combat effectiveness."

Having transgender troops incurs and opportunity cost. Any action spent dealing with transgender troops and their issues prevents some other action from happening. Transgender policies are supported by a vast bureaucracy of diversity councils, working groups, and boards. Then their are 35-page briefing guides, toolkits (30 pages), training materials (25 slides), training classes, webinars, and orders sent to commanders in the field.

Other problems are created. "The Army Directive orders all personnel to accept transsexuals having a new “gendermarker” in bathrooms, showers, and other private areas, showing zero concern for the feelings of women exposed to 'gender pretenders' taking advantage of the situation." It even affects DoD schools for the children of service members. "This October 2016 memo imposed on all DoD schools worldwide a controversial 'opendoor' bathroom and shower policy in line with 'guidance' issued by the Departments of Justice and Education in May 2016. Since the Trump Administration rescinded that guidance, the Defense Department followed suit, but transgender activists demand reinstatement."

@Ron>But the scariest part of this is not the negative impact that this ill-conceived and ill-advised decision will have on our military . . ..